The non-profit institution 'CompTIA' - Computing Technology Industry Association - was established in the early 1980's. They've developed step by step & now lead the world in I.T. accreditations that are vendor neutral. Which means they're able to freely produce & be in control of an entire collection of IT industry examinations & produce their very own accreditations that don't apply to just one specific organisations' products. This really is excellent for trainees, because they can be taught about various platforms and how they inter-connect & integrate with each other - a not unusual circumstance in industry today. Whenever new syllabuses are produced, CompTIA invites several academic & industrial groups to come together and validate that every area has been considered equally, & the programs are appropriate from a commercial perspective.

Several of these roles can be starting-points for higher-level I.T. positions, therefore, much like all career-tracks, it is vital that you first look at exactly what your end goals are, & which learning-style you favour. The best way to maximise your career path the most is always to take advice from an industry expert prior to starting with your training course. It's often really useful to think about tailored career training packages that feature the 'A+' & 'Network+' programs. Bundling a number of program materials into one is often quite financially attractive.

The Network+ 2009 exam has been coded 'N10-004', replacing the old N10-003. A bigger importance is focused on security in the '2009' Network+ exam, along with network design and wireless networking. This of course is as well as the key aspects of network management and infrastructure.

The CompTIA A+ exams are principally suitable for anyone planning to begin work in any of the following areas: Call Centre Technician, Depot Technician, PC Technician, Help Desk Technician, Field Services Technician, Remote Support Technician and IT Administrator. Career prospects will also include Network Installers, Administrators and Technicians when you pass the CompTIA 'Network+' as well.

In line with their 'ISO' standardisation move, 'CompTIA' have up-graded both A+ & Network+ examinations to 2009 editions. The previous A+ (version 2006-2007) examinations that were categorised with the '600' pre-fix are now being phased out worldwide during 2010. At the close of Aug 2010, the examinations will retire in Britain. Up until then, individuals can sit either the '600' or the more recent 700 examinations in local test centres (specifically Vue and Prometric). Logic suggests that new students should learn edition '2009'. A+ 2009 will now be offered as '220/701' 'CompTIA' A+ Essentials & 220/702 CompTIA A+ Practical Application. In addition to some more content on newer technologies, there are now two exams that cover elements of all four of the previous exams. Even though the previous A+ had 4 exams within the total program, just two were needed for the accreditation. Right now the industry demands workers with know-how that was in all four previous exams. Trainees will get that knowledge from the 2 new essential 'A+' programs. 'CompTIA' also have produced the BR-003 'up-grade' test, for students certified in the 600 exams who want to get up to date with the new 700 examinations. Supplemental training will almost certainly be necessary, especially for those who only originally studied for 2 of the 4 'electives'. Obviously though the newer technological topics will have to be studied.

For the new trainee to I.T., CompTIA offers the preliminary foundation training programs in many sectors. Typically, students who are interested in employment opportunities in Networking, Servers, Systems, Security, Communications & Support will begin with 'CompTIA', although students in any IT sector would find a 'CompTIA' accreditation a helpful addition to their Curriculum Vitae. 'CompTIA' are also now offering 'STRATA' qualifications : they're not specifically for those employed in the IT sector, but for people whose careers require a basic understanding of computing.

Average learning time for these examinations are considered to be around 100 to 150 hrs for the 'A+' , and 75 to 100 hrs for the 'Network+' . Studying part-time, this can be done over a six month period if you decide on the appropriate quality of training and excellent examination preparation software.

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